Peche Perfect

Garde La Peche makes abig impression in the hands of James Hannon at Durrow Reports, pages 2-3

DEREK O’CONNOR

‘John Kiely deserves all the many tributes paid to him after ADream To Share’s Cheltenham success. He was abrilliant mentor when Iwas riding in bumpers for him early in my career’ Page 4 tCHELTENHAM FESTIVAL WINNER

ANGELS DAWN won the‘Kim Muir’for Sam Curling and owner/breeder Alfred Sweetnam

GRAND NATIONAL PROSPECT

LONGHOUSE POET, bred by J Duggan, scored again on St Patrick’s Day for Martin Brassil

Champion Sire in 2021/22 and leading the way again in 2022/23

MIKEY O’CONNOR put up a show for his home crowd with a Liscarroll treble which saw him move past Enda Bolger into fifth spot on the all-time point-to-point riders’ list with 416 winners

Th e lo cal jo cke y’s first success came in the Farm First In su ra nce fiv e-y ear-ol d geldings’ maiden on the Paul O’Flynn-trained, well-touted newcomer Quarry Rocco

The Shirocco gelding was always travelling well close to the lead on the outer before picking up the running two out, where the pursuing Toss Of A Coin and longtime leader Kedg West came down Quarry Rocco came clear before the last to put 12 lengths between himself and Kilbarry Hill, while Burnley Lane made a pleasing debut by returning a further one and a quarter lengths adrift in third.

“He’s a proper horse and this wouldn’t really be his going as he would ideally want nicer ground,” Buttevant-based O’Flynn said of his father Tom’s homebred

“He’d been working well with West Cork Wildway and he’ll probably now be sold.”

Star performance

The 41-year-old rider ’s second success came on Jack Bennett’s former hurdling mare Dancing After Dark in the Sygma Automation winnerof-one

Da ncin g After Da rk , runner-up in a Kilbeggan mares’ hurdle in June and a winner at Belclare in March 2022, made all the running before sweeping clear from two out to beat the favourite Desert Cave by 32 lengths

“She did it nicely; I was a bit worried about the lack of a run this year and also the ground,” two-horse handler Bennett said of the Kate Costello & Brothers Syndicate-owned winner “She’ll now run in the mares’ hunter chase at Cork on Easter Monday.”

O’Connor completed his treble in landing the 11-runner exors of the late Dr RJ Sheehy six-year-old-and-upwards mares’ maiden on Sarah Jane

The Niall Kelleher-trained ma re, ru nner -up to My

Reprieve at Aghabullogue in January, went clear from two out to beat the only other finisher, Coolyline Red, by 36 lengths in the colours of Gerard Nihill from Quin.

The meeting began with the Goffs UK Aintree Sale fouryear-old maiden – a race won in the past by His Song and Peddlers Cross – with the Andy Slatt er y-traine d Cantico posting a debut success under 5lb claimer Adam Ryan

The Diamond Boy gelding was always positioned towards the head of affairs and led from tw o ou t bu t th en ha d to overcome a final-fence error to den y fe llo w new co mer Fortified Fortune by a head.

“He was showing a lot at home and he’s still a big baby,” Slattery said of his winner who is owned by his sister-in-law Sharon Slattery and was a €45,000 purchase from the 2022 Goffs Land Rover sale

The Marie Harding-trained debutante Hathaways Cottage bravely came a second time to lead under Eoin O’Brien on the run to the final fence to beat Colline Fleurie by five lengths in the Topline Burtons, Kanturk five-year-old mares’ maiden.

Ha th aw ay s Cot ta ge , a daughter of Mahler who represents breeder Mary Turner, is out of a half-sister to Grade 2 winning novice hurdler Creepy Ow ner -tr ainer Jo hn

Murphy’s Wild Grouse atoned for falling on his previous two starts by running his rivals ragged under Adam Feeney in the Collins Bros Garage sixye ar -old -an d-up wa rd s